That nagging feeling...

From the pattern cover

Do you ever have that nagging feeling that there is something you are supposed to be doing but you don't know what it is?  I had that feeling Monday night.  I went through my mental to do list and couldn't identify the source.  So, I chalked it up to the fact that there is almost always something I should be doing :)

Enter Tuesday morning and my Handwork group.  Ooops - nothing ready to work on for Handwork.  That's what it was all about!  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I took the opportunity to work on this project I started at Quilt Market.

My WIP

Let me back up a bit.  At Quilt Market, I took a class from Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins of Piece O' Cake fame.  I've admired many of their designs over the years so this was the perfect opportunity to learn about their methods in person.  The class was only 90 min long, so it was definitely the condensed version!

The project was the tea towel in the top picture using their "Applique with Attitude" technique.  (You can find the book here).  Basically, the idea is needle turn applique without invisible stitches.  The applique shapes are stitched down with perle cotton using a running stitch or mock blanket stitch.  It was interesting to learn how they prepare their applique shapes and that they like to use an overlay for proper placement.  I've been a fan of overlays for quite some time - no need for lightboxes or marking the background fabric.

You should see the tiny pins they use!  Half inch sequin pins.  Anyway, the technique is lots of fun.  If you like turned under edges in your applique, but struggle with invisible stitches give it a try!  I think it would be fun with perle cotton in a color that matches the shapes too.